High gas prices force billions off road

A new government survey shows high gas prices have forced billions of Americans off the road this summer travel season.Oil prices have finally begun to trickle down to the gas pumps but local motorists say prices aren't going down fast enough.

"Well, I don't know if it's for a long, the gas prices going down. Probably for a little bit, and then come up again," driver Jehu Carrasco. "I'm happy, but I hope it stays, the prices still going down," he said.

The Auto Club reports that gas prices have dropped nearly half a dollar in the Southland due in part to lower demand at the pump and lower crude oil prices. The drop averages to about a penny a day for the last two months.

When gas prices went up, it sprinted up, but as it comes down, prices are jogging down.

"It's not going down. It was $2 cheaper last year. When it gets below that, then it'll start going down," said driver Jim Hunt.

Gas prices in the L.A. and Long Beach area are about $4.09, down about 45 cents since last month. In Orange County, $4.04 is the average, about a 46-cent drop, in the Inland Empire, $4.06 is the average, about a 45-cent drop, and in Ventura County, the average is $4.09, a 45-cent drop.

The Federal Highway Administration reports that in June, the height of the summer travel season, Americans drove about 12.2 billion miles less this year than in 2007. The administration also reported that drivers used 400 million fewer gallons of gas between January and March.